Easton, Pa. – Lafayette couldn’t complete its season sweep over Patriot League foe Bucknell on Saturday evening. The Bison outlasted the Leopards 3-1, winning the final three games of the match.

Lafayette opened up a 7-5 lead early in the opening set. A 4-0 run from the Leopards led by Karissa Ciliento’s two kills and a block pushed the advantage to 11-5. The Bison pulled to within two, 12-10, but another 4-0 run pushed the Leopards ahead, 16-10. Bucknell went on 10-1 run to take a 20-17 lead.

The Leopards continued to battle, as Jet Manzi hit a kill, making the score, 21-20. With the score tied at 25, Manzi and Katy Rooney hit back-to-back kills to win set one for Lafayette, 27-25.

Brianne Giangiobbe hit back-to-back kills, followed by a Manzi kill to give the Leopards an early 4-2 lead. After a pair of Bucknell points, Manzi smashed a kill and Rooney and Kelly Flynn blocked the Bison to regain the advantage, 6-4.

The Bison went on a 13-3 run to take control of the second set, 17-9. Bucknell held off a Leopard rally late in the game and took the second set, 25-20.

The Maroon and White raced out to a 10-5 lead powered by three Ciliento kills and a kill from Manzi. Giangiobbe hit two kills followed by a pair of aces from Samantha Volk to increase the edge to 15-7. Bucknell mounted a comeback and pulled two within two, 21-19, before the Leopards burned a timeout.

Bucknell scored the next point after the timeout, but another Ciliento kill and a block from Flynn pushed the lead back to two, 23-21. The Bison came back to tie the set at 24. The teams exchanged points until Bucknell scored two straight to win set three, 29-27, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Lafayette and Bucknell went back and forth early in the fourth set before the Bison went on a 3-0 spurt to force a Leopard timeout with the score 11-8. Bucknell increased its lead to 17-11, but a pair kills from both Ciliento and Giangiobbe pulled the Leopards to within three, 21-18. The Bison took the next four points to win the fourth set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.

Ciliento and Giangiobbe combined for 31 of the Leopards 49 kills, while Rooney and Manzi finished with nine and eight kills respectively. Volk had a match-high 43 assists, while Lauren Pisauro came up with 22 digs in the loss. Bucknell was led by Kristen Titley’s match-high 20 kills.

The Leopards return home for their final matches of the season on Nov. 15 against Holy Cross at 5 p.m. and Nov. 16 for Senior Day at 6 p.m. versus Army.

Lafayette Athletics, as a partner in the mission of the College, provides an incredibly effective learning experience for student-athletes through competitive NCAA Division I athletics. Lafayette sponsors 23 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes.